Fabricated resilient seal retention for large valve dampers



Nov. 26, 1968 Filed Sept. 6, 1966 FIITLi G. A. KURKJIAN, JR

FABRICATED RESILIENT SEAL RETENTION FOR LARGE VALVE DAMPERS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 f f w 56 Z I 22 j; 4

, f2, 1 f 4? F54 50 O 2 70 Nov. 26, 1968 5. A. KURKJIAN, JR 3,412,975

FABRICATED RESILIENT SEAL RETENTION FOR LARGE VALVE DAMPERS Filed Sept.6, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PIE. :3

3,412,975 FABRICATED RESILIENT SEAL RETENTION FOR LARGE VALVE DAMPERSGregory A. Kurkjian, Jr., Lombard, Ill., assignor to Henry PrattCompany, a corporation of Illinois Filed Sept. 6, 1966, Ser. No. 577,3626 Claims. (Cl. 251-362) This invention relates to valves and moreparticularly to an improved resilient seal retainer for valvestructures.

In valves of the butterfly type, wherein a disc-like member is mountedfor rotation in the interior of the valve body between an open positionand a closed position spanning the inner periphery of the valve body, itis common for the resilient sealing member to be carried either in theperiphery of the valve disc or to be positioned about the innerperiphery of the valve body. Mounting of the resilient sealing memberabout the inner periphery of the valve body may be accomplished bysuitably bonding the sealing member in a groove in the valve body or byclamping the resilient sealing member between a backing member and amovable retaining member in the desired position in the valve body.

This invention is directed to an improved structure for clamping aresilient valve seat in a valve body.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedseat retaining structure for a valve.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improvedseat retaining structure for a valve wherein an adjustable cammingmember is provided for selectively moving the movable retaining memberto obtain the desired seating relationship between the resilient valvemember and the periphery of the valve closure member.

A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved seatretaining structure for a valve wherein the valve seat abuts a backingmember and is engaged by a movable retaining member and a rotatableadjustable cam member is provided, having a camming surface inengagement with the retaining member, to move the retaining memberthrough an infinite number of seat adjusting positions, the cam memberfurther including means for locking the retaining member and cam memberin a desired adjusted position.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following description of the preferred embodimentsillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a dampertype valve utilizing theseat retaining structure of this invention; K

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary enlarged isometric view of the seat retainingstructure of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a section view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a section view taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

In FIGURE 1 there is shown a valve body of the louver or damper type,generally suited to relatively low pressure applications, such as inregulating air flow for blast furnaces or the like. It is to beunderstood that the seating structure hereinafter shown and describedmay be utilized in other valve bodies for uses under conditions otherthan those specifically described herein.

The body 10 includes a rectangular frame 21 preferably made of channeliron. The frame mounts opposed trunnions 22 having suitable bearingsurfaces 23 for rotatably mounting a shaft 24 in the frame. The shafts,in turn. mount a rotary valve closure member, disc, or louver blade 26for movement between an open position permitting the free flow of fiuidthrough the valve body, and a closed position as shown in FIGURE 1,wherein the louver 26 is in scaling engagement with the inner peripheryof the States atent 3,412,975 Patented Nov. 26, 1968 valve body 10thereby blocking fiow of fluid through the valve. Each shaft 24 has atransverse through opening 27 for receiving tapered pin 28 which alsoextends through aligned openings 29in louver 26. Nut 30 is threade onone ing surface 42 generally mating with face 43 of the resilient valveseat 44.

Valve seat 44 has a top or seating surface 46 which is intended forsealing engagement with the periphery 48 of closure member or louver 26when the louver is in the closed position to prevent the flow of fluidthrough the valve body. This invention is directed to an improved meansfor retaining and/or distorting the resilient seat to insure properseating engagement between surfaces 46 and 48.

The seat retaining structure further includes a plurality of movableretaining members 50, each a few inches long and having a forward seatengaging surface 52 generally mating with the adjacent face 54 of theresilient member 44. Each member 50 has an upright shoulder 56 spacedfrom surface 52 and a fiat face or a second or locking surface 58generally parallel to surface 32 of the channel frame and generallynormal to shoulder 56. Each member 50 has at least two longitudinallyspaced oval bores 60 extending through from surface 58 to the undersideof the member.

'Camming members 62 are mounted on the retaining members 50 with reducedshank portion 63 of each camming member extending through each Opening60. The shank 63 is reduced in lateral dimension relative to the narrowdimension of the opening 60 to permit movement of retaining membertoward and away from resilient sealing member 44 relative to valveframe. Each camming member 62 is also provided with a bore and aneccentrically positioned enlarged head 65. A stud 66 is secured, such asby welding, to the surface 32 for rotatably mounting the camming member.

Head of the camming member has an enlarged countersunk opening 68 forreceiving a lock nut 70 which may be threaded on stud 66 to hold thecamming member and the retaining member 50 in selected adjustedpositions as will be explained later. An annular shoulder 72, formedbetween head 65 and shank 63, is in facial engagement with the surface58 of retaining member 50.

The outer periphery 74 of the head of the camming member bears againstsurface 56 of the retaining member 50 to urge the retaining memberagainst the resilient seal as the camming member 62 is rotated about itseccentric axis with respect to stud 66. To assist in rotating the cammember 62, a pair of openings 76 may be formed in the upper surface ofthe head to receive a spanning wrench or similar tool.

In operation, when it is desired to adjust the resilient seat 44 so thatsurface 46 will be in intimate engagement with periphery 48 of louver26, nut 70 on stud 64 is first loosened permitting free rotationalmovement of cam member 62 relative to the stud and retaining member 50.The cam member is then rotated about its eccentric axis to move theretaining member 50 relative to resilient seat 44. When the cam memberhas been rotated to a point wherein the resilient seal 44 is suitablyexpanded toward the closure so that the proper seating engagement existsbetween periphery 48 and seating surface 46, nut 70 is tightened on stud66, which has the effect of locking the cam against further rotation andwhich further locks the retaining member 50 against movement relative toframe 21 or cam 62 by means of the frictional engagement between annularshoulder 72 and surface 58 of retaining member 50. Should adjustments beneeded after extended use of the valve, the above procedure is repeated.

It is to be understood that retaining member 50 may be formed inadjacent segments about the inner periphery afforded by channel 21 toprovide a plurality of individually adjustable segments about the extentof resilient sealing member 44. In the corner areas 78, theconfiguration of the retaining ring 50' may be formed as a quadrant of acircle to provide the desired rounded corner sealing surface.

While the seat disclosed is in a fabricated valve housing of channeliron cross section, many large valves are fabricated of plates weldedtogether wherein the seat assembly is equally useable. Shapes other thanbasically rectangular are used, such as obround, square and roundwherein the seat assembly may be used. The back-up member 34 may bewelded in place if desired. Generally a static seal 37 is provided atthe base juncture of the member 34 and the valve body so as to preventflow or seepage behind the resilient seat. In whatever outline shapechosen for use of the seat assembly, the resilient ring is continuousfrom hub to hub where it abuts the sealing ring 47 about the shaft. Ahub ring part 49 moves with the damper against the shaft seal ring 47.When first assembled, the hub ring will be in contact but the resilientseal will not contact the edge of the damper 26 until after it issqueezed and tightened in assembly. Slight extrusion in the seat ringbrings the ring and damper edge into proper interference from hub to hubon both sides of the center shaft. Curved segments with at least twoadjustin cams are used in the corners similarly as straight segments areused along the straight edges of the damper.

This invention provides an improved means for adjustably retaining avalve seat in a fabricated valve body. Through the simple steps ofloosening a lock nut and rotating a camming member and then tighteningthe lock nut, the seating surface of the resilient member may beadjusted and both the cam member and the movable retaining member may belocked in the adjusted position. The structure of the invention isrelatively simple which lends to its reliability of operation and easeof use.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, as some modifications may be obvious to those skilled in theart.

I claim:

1. A valve seat retention structure for use in a valve body having athrough passage, a resilient sealing member positioned about the innerperiphery of the passage and a backing member fixed to the body andabutting one side of the resilient sealing member, comprising: aretaining member mounted on the valve body adjacent the other side ofthe resilient sealing member for movement toward and away from theresilient sealing member, said retaining member having a first surfacefor receiving forces from one direction to move the retaining membertowards and away from the resilient sealing member, said retainingmember further having a locking surface for receiving forces fromanother direction for locking the retaining member against movementrelative to the valve body and the resilient sealing member; a cammingmember in the valve body adjacent the retaining member having a firstcamming surface in abutting relation to the first surface of theretaining member for moving the retaining member responsive to movementof the camming member, said camming member having a second lockingsurface adjacent the retaining member locking surface, said cammingmember being mounted to t-he valve body for rotation relative to theretaining member and also for movement toward and away from theretaining member locking surface between an unlocked position and alocked position; and locking means for locking the camming member andretaining member in selected adjusted positions.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the retaining member has an enlargedopening; the valve body has a stud which projects through the opening,and the camming member has a shank portion extending through theretaining member opening with an eccentric bore through the cammingmember for telescoping the camming member over the stud.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the camming member has a firstenlarged portion exteriorly of the opening in the retaining member onwhich the first cam surface is provided and a second reduced shankportion which extends into the opening in the retaining member, theshank portion having a reduced dimension relative to the openingpermitting lateral movement between the retaining member and the cammingmember.

4. The apparatus specified in claim 3 wherein the retaining member firstsurface is the wall of a recess in the retaining member, said wall beinggenerally coextensive with the resilient member, so that movement of thecamming member moves the retaining member toward and away from theresilient member.

5. The apparatus as specified in claim 4 wherein the locking surface isthe bottom wall of the retaining member recess which engages theunderside of the camming member between the enlarged and reducedportions.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the stud is a threaded member, thebore in the camming member is larger than the dimension of the stud topermit free rotation of the camming member relative to the stud, saidcamming member bore being enlarged at the enlarged end of the cammingmember; and wherein a nut is threaded on the stud in the enlarged boreto provide a means for locking the camming member and retaining memberby tightening the nut to cause the underside of the camming member toengage the bottom of the retaining member recess and thereby lock thecamming member against further rotation and lock the retaining memberagainst further movement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,894,718 7/1959 Englert 251-332XR 2,991,043 7/1961 Saat 251-364 XR 3,144,040 8/1964 White 251-307 XR3,171,429 3/1965 Sturmer et al. 251-163 XR 3,197,174 7/1965 Killian251-362 XR 3,301,523 1/1967 Lowrey 251-332 XR 3,335,999 8/1967 Lourey251-362 XR SAMUEL SCOTT, Primary Examiner.

1. A VALVE SEAT RETENTION STRUCTURE FOR USE IN A VALVE BODY HAVING ATHROUGH PASSAGE, A RESILIENT SEALING MEMBER POSITIONED ABOUT THE INNERPERIPHERY OF THE PASSAGE AND A BACKING MEMBER FIXED TO THE BODY ANDABUTTING ONE SIDE OF THE RESILIENT SEALING MEMBER, COMPRISING: ARETAINING MEMBER MOUNTED ON THE VALVE BODY ADJACENT THE OTHER SIDE OFTHE RESILIENT SEALING MEMBER FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THERESILIENT SEALING MEMBER, SAID RETAINING MEMBER HAVING A FIRST SURFACEFOR RECEIVING FORCES FROM ONE DIRECTION TO MOVE THE RETAINING MEMBERTOWARDS AND AWAY FROM THE RESILIENT SEALING MEMBER, SAID RETAININGMEMBER FURTHER HAVING A LOCKING SURFACE FOR RECEIVING FORCES FROMANOTHER DIRECTION FOR LOCKING THE RETAINING MEMBER AGAINST MOVEMENTRELATIVE TO THE VALVE BODY AND THE RESILIENT SEALING MEMBER; A CAMMINGMEMBER IN THE VALVE BODY ADJACENT THE RETAINING MEMBER HAVING A FIRSTCAMMING SURFACE IN ABUTTING RELATION TO THE FIRST SURFACE OF THERETAINING MEMBER FOR MOVING THE RETAINING MEMBER RESPONSIVE TO MOVEMENTOF THE CAMMING MEMBER, SAID CAMMING MEMBER HAVING A SECOND LOCKINGSURFACE ADJACENT THE RETAINING MEMBER LOCKING SURFACE, SAID CAMMINGMEMBER BEING MOUNTED TO THE VALVE BODY FOR ROTATION RELATIVE TO THERETAINING MEMBER AND ALSO FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THERETAINING MEMBER LOCKING SURFACE BETWEEN AN UNLOCKED POSITION AND ALOCKED POSITION; AND LOCKING MEANS FOR LOCKING THE CAMMING MEMBER ANDRETAINING MEMBER IN SELECTED ADJUSTED POSITIONS.